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Local Authors Book Fair

The Local Authors Program

Join Main Library for our first Local Authors Book Fair as part of the Local Authors Program of Broward County Libraries and in recognition of National Authors' Day & Indie Author Day.

We will have workshops for self-publishing, editing, writing and much more! 

This is a networking opportunity for writers, local publishers and editors who are interested in meeting knowledgeable and experienced people in the field. 

Want to become a Local Authors Program member? Learn more about the application process here.

Local Authors Book Fair Agenda

11:30am-12:30pm 

A Small Beginnings Self-Publishing Plan with Robert Herrick

This presentation is for people who are considering or are in the process of self-publishing a book or picture book. First, we will help answer The Big Question, "should I traditionally publish or self-publish my book?"
We will discuss what it really means to self-publish a book. Then, we will briefly explain the steps involved in creating a self-published book. We'll dispel some myths about self-publishing. Then, we'll go through the twelve step Small Beginnings Self-Publishing Plan. We'll round out the presentation with some self-publishing tips and secrets, then wrap-up with a Q+A session. 

Robert Herrick worked for 20 years as a software developer. He helped create over fifty commercially released games and educational titles: including the best-selling Cabela’s Big Game Hunter Series. Since leaving the game industry, he has self-published a middle grade novel, three picture books, one grammar book, and three books that help authors on their self-publishing journey. He is also an award-winning screenwriter and producer. You can find out more about him at www.UWriteKidsBooks.com. Robert lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his wife, pet snail, and lots of crested and gargoyle geckos.

1-2pm 

How to Get Published After Really, Really, REALLY Trying with Al Pessin

Join Al Pessin for insider tips on how to find an agent and a publisher in today's difficult environment from someone who did. Pessin will provide a walk through today’s publishing options, along with practical information to help writers decide which path to take and how to pursue each one. Al also will talk about his own journey that led to securing a three-book contract with a major publisher.

Al Pessin is the multi-award-winning journalist, playwright, and author of the Task Force Epsilon thriller series Sandblast, Blowback and Shock Wave from Kensington Publishing. Al drew on his experiences as a reporter at the White House and the Pentagon, and posted in Asia, Europe and the Middle East covering wars, revolutions, and a variety of stories over nearly forty years. Among other honors, Al has won a Florida Book Award and seven Royal Palm Literary Awards. More at www.AlPessin.com. 

2-3pm

A Memoir Workshop led by Main Library's Memoir Writers Group. 

Memoir Writers Group at the Main Library has been facilitated by Helen Rubin since July 2022, when the group returned to in-person meetings.

Helen is a British trained elementary school teacher, she later educated her two sons at home, and now supports her three home educated grandchildren. Her passion is the early care of babies and young children, following the work of two special Hungarian ladies: Emmi Pikler MD, and Magda Gerber (Magda brought Pikler’s ideas to the US.) Books, reading, and writing, have played a big part in Helen’s life; moreso since leaving school.

 Helen has discovered a full and varied life as an immigrant to the US, starting with compiling and publishing the first US Edition of the UK’s well known Reed’s Nautical Almanac with her late husband, Martin, in 1973-1974. The twists and turns of life compelled Helen to document the various facets of her early life in England, plus her years in the US. Several books are in the works!

This program is made possible by Friends of the Fort Lauderdale Libraries. 

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